1. During the Renaissance, art prospered alongside with the liberty to portray images with a chaste explanation of appearance, also the restricted construction of Iconography of the Medieval times changed. In the 14th and 15th century new thoughts came forth in Italy and went across all the way till Western Europe. Previously, that is, before the renaissance, the art was considered to be all about religion, such as, images of God, churches, heaven and the saints were the ideas artists used to paint. The Renaissance period brought modifications and the artists moved towards more worldly subjects. That is why the values and ideals during the European Renaissance are described as “secular humanism”: secular means apart from religion and humanism means the study and improvement of human behavior.
Let us take the painting of Perugino, who was among the best masters of the Early Renaissance. His painting Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter was very linear. Demarcation of the figures with a black line gave a sense of steadiness, immovability and the power in their environment. It seems as all the motion has stopped in that particular moment. His approach is very humane and conventional, which is the particular Renaissance style. He keeps the characters paused in a contrapposto pose dwelling in scholarly discussion with the person next to them. His painting has a simple sense of space and light, where all the characters stand out in an apparent and constant way. Although this event took place in the past, the buildings in the background still have the Roman antiquity.
The style Perugino chose was a three dimensional approach to painting giving clarity, static balance and symmetrical order. His clarity is portrayed in the figures of Christ and St. Peter. This persuaded the people through its natural beauty and the rationalism in the theme is conveyed to the viewer through Renaissance art. He presented a very conventional Renaissance style.
2. The Baroque period started after the Renaissance during the 1600s. The art of this era were not as popular as the Renaissance, because it was thought of as weird and unusual as it was a recreation of the master pieces of the artists’ work of the Renaissance. This was later changed due to the work of Caravaggio and Bernini. The main difference between the arts of these two periods was in the approach applied by the artists. The Renaissance artists did not portray emotional perception in their paintings and sculptures where as the Baroque dramatically expressed the characters in their painting.
In contrast to Perugino, the Baroque painter Caravaggio was entirely different from any painter of the Renaissance. He dumped the ways the painters of Renaissance era used because his style was entirely dissimilar. His Painting Conversion of St. Paul is very much different from Perugino’s style. He doesn’t outline the horse and Paul with black, instead to give it a sense of motion uses paint only. Hence the characters do not seem paused in the moment, and therefore he created the contrast of Perugino’s conventional style. To show the expressive side of the characters he used staged light and shadowy affects, termed tenebrism, which added an emotional touch to the art. While Perugino’s method to his work of art was regularity and steadiness, Caravaggio’s method to his masterpiece was motion and vibrancy. Also the drama presented in his work creates suspense for the viewer. Perugino’s art was of conventional influence, while Caravaggio’s was sensitive influence due to its emotive touch.
3. Enlightenment, a period of western thought and culture, began somewhere between the mid 17th century till the 18th century. It is the era distinguished by the remarkable developments in science, philosophy, society and politics. This was the Age of Reason which led to the formation of scientific societies, the rise of Copernicanism and the disarticulation of Aristotelian nature philosophy and Galen’s old medicinal principle. Most authors and thinkers brought in scientific improvements by overthrowing religion and conventional authority in support of the improvement of open communication and thoughts.
The universities were centers of scientific investigations and progress. Science became well-liked among the educated people, especially through Encyclope’die and the Newtonianism by Voltaire, Emilie du Chatelet, the French translator of Newton’s Principia. A lot of progress took place in the medical field, mathematics and physics; the improvement of biological taxonomy; a latest perceptive of magnetism and electricity; and the growing of chemistry as a regulation, which became the fundamentals of modern chemistry.
The study of science initially being called Natural Philosophy was then separated into physics and chemistry and natural history, which consisted of anatomy, biology, geology, mineralogy and zoology.
Academies and societies started disseminating science by printing the works of their members along with their procedures. Some examples are Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Der Naturforscher, Journal des Scavans, Jesuit Memoires de Tre’voux, and Acta Eruditorum. While some articles were printed on a regular basis but some were refused so Antoine Parent founded a periodical, Researches in Physics and Mathematics, mostly for the papers refused by the Comite`. These articles created enthusiasm and awareness in the common residents, and hence augmenting the number of readers.
The printing of modified encyclopedias and dictionaries increased due to the larger number of readers. Some of the examples are: Lexicon Technicum: or A Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Science by Jon Harris (the first technical dictionary), five editions of Ephraim Chambers’ Cyclopaedia, and Encyclope`die ou Dictionnaire Raisonne` des sciences, des Arts et Me`tiers. The increased liking of Encyclope`die led to its printing in the quarto and actavo editions which were less costly and more reachable, hence attracting a larger number of readers.
The establishment of coffee houses resulted in providing a space for scholars to socialize and talk about science and experiment without the presence of a laboratory. Some patrons also began lecturing others as education became the main theme. For example Peter Staehl provided chemistry lessons at Tilliard’s Coffee House in the early 1600s. These public lectures became admired, and hence became an opportunity for some scientists to earn a reputation and a living.
Some of the popular science which was not understood by common man was translated in easy language for all to learn and gain knowledge. For example the Philosophaie Naturalis Pricipia Mathematica by Sir Isaac Newton was translated by Emilie du Chatele from Latin to French.
Women during the Enlightenment were not allowed to study science and attend universities. Only with the consent of some flexible fathers or some men who were in favor of women schooling, some were tutored in the house or learned things on their own. Two extraordinary women, Laura Bassi and Yeketerina Dashkova, were able to study in proper institutions. Bassi earned a PhD and became a teacher and Dashkova became the first lady director of a scientific academy. Moreover, Caroline Herschel gained recognition by her sighting of the eight comets and her index to Flamsteed’s Observations of Fixed Stars. Moreover, other women became illustrators or translators of scientific texts due to their talents and expertise.
Research in astronomy also improved in the 18th century. Astronomers developed telescopes, created star catalogues, and explained the movements of heavenly bodies. Some of the discoveries are: finding of Venus by Mikhail Lomonosov, more proof of Venus’s environment is collected by Johann Hieronymus Schroter, Alexis Claude de Clairut calculated the mass of Venus through complex computations, and William Herschel discovered the planet later on called Uranus, and so on.
Important discoveries were made in the field of chemistry during the 18th century. Some are: Joseph Priestly Joseph Black and Henry Cavendish pointed out the various gases that made the air, Lavoisier discovered and named oxygen, described its role in animal respiration and the calcinations of metals exposed to air. Finally this oxygen-based theory of combustion created the foundation of new chemistry.
4. Renaissance is an intellectual movement creating the enthusiasm for classical literature learning and art of the 15th and 16th century. It was an era when scientific developments and philosophical thoughts brought massive development in the society. Petrarch, the first of the humanist, appreciated the beauty of classical literature and encouraged the youth to humanistic studies, which is still found in the society today.
Boccaccio, a disciple of Petrarch, encouraged young humanists through his famous “Decameron”. This in the present time has the same value and interest. The Renaissance decade brought great changes in arts, sciences and philosophy.
Art was used for architecture, for example Roman architecture can be seen in many cities like state buildings in Washington D.C. Other works of art is also found in personal buildings very much similar to the developments brought in the Renaissance period.
The Renaissance affected the racism in the American society. It proved that the black could do many things and could stand beside any other American citizen. Democratic government emerged in the Renaissance, which is now a very common practice in the American culture and society.
Harlem’s Renaissance was a pathway for Civil Rights Movement. Artists, authors, poets and play writes were inspired and got a chance to create excellent pieces of literary work. This had great effect on the culture and society, which is still found today. Establishment of printing press increased the literacy rate and the number of educated people multiplied. Multicultural living found a way for better living through education.
Renaissance art explored nature of mortality and helped people live a life worthy of favorable divine judgment. This helped in practicing the good aspects of religion. This is also what the religious culture supports today.
A society with multicultural people and a high literacy rate brings improvement in the American culture and living standards in a community. These were some of the elements from the Renaissance which are still implied in the modern culture.
Works Cited
“Humanism in the Renaissance”. The Renaissance Connection. Allentown Art Museum. n.d. Web. 23 April 2012. <http://www.renaissanceconnection.org/lesson_social_humanism.html>
Maureen, “Difference between Baroque Art and Renaissance”. Difference Between.net. n.p. 15 March 2011. Web. 23 April 2012. <http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/culture-miscellaneous/difference-between-baroque-art-and-renaissance/>
"Comparison of Perugino and Caravaggio." 123HelpMe.com. 23 Apr 2012 <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=59720>.
Wikipedia contributors. "Science in the Age of Enlightenment." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 16 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_in_the_Age_of_Enlightenment>
Bristow, William, "Enlightenment", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), 20 August 2010. Web. 23 April 2012. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/#SciManSubEnl>
“Effects of the Renaissance”. Reformation.pdf. n.p. 25 September 2008. Web. 25 April 2012. <http://blue.wths.net/faculty/desecki/wh/power%20point%20slides%20pdf/Reformation.pdf>
